The Best Roof Sheathing Materials

Roofs are designed to withstand the elements by protecting your home from rain and harsh sunlight. For many years, people used wood materials such as logs and wood planks for roofing. Today, pressed wood-fiber sheathing is becoming a popular roofing material. Roof sheathing materials allow roofing companies Denver residents trust to install structurally sound bases for attaching roof shingles.

Sheathing Types
Some of the most popular roofing materials in Denver include plywood and oriented strand boards (OSB). Plywood has been around for a longer time than OSBs. It consists of thin layers of wood veneers laminated at right angles to strengthen the panels. OSB has the same structural design as plywood except the fact that OSB has small strands of wood instead of veneer sheets. In addition, the wood strands in OSB are positioned at random angles during compression. However, both plywood and OSB make excellent roofing materials.

Sheathing Features
Exterior grade products are recommended when installing roof sheathing. It is important to know that both plywood and OSB roof sheathing panels come in 4-by-8 foot dimensions. Homeowners who do not know the difference can easily purchase panels intended for subfloors and wall boxing by accident. Roof sheathings usually lack tongue and groove edges and are labeled “sized for spacing”, meaning they are about 1/8 shorter to provide spacing between panels on the roof. Plywood is heavier and more expensive than OSB.

Water Resistance
Wood fiber products usually swell when they get wet. The factory edges of plywood roof sheathing expand faster than those of OSB, because OSB roof sheathing features resin-sealed edges. However, once cut, OSB edges absorb water and swell faster than plywood. Roofers Denver residents hire usually cut panels in each horizontal row to fit because the dimensions of most roof materials do not accommodate whole sheathing panels. It is advisable to cover roof sheathing with resin to prevent water damage.